Chapter 21: Jewish Barbecue (Please Continue Reading)

Just as the Jews had no time to react, the knights had already burst in. The wooden palisade that distinguished the Jews from the Christians was nothing before the mighty warhorses. In an instant, the knights smashed through the Jewish enclosure and charged into their community.

Screaming, the Jews scattered in all directions, powerless to resist the armored knights. Some attempted to fight back with dung forks or sticks, but against the knights’ seasoned combat skills, they were little more than fish on a chopping board. Their struggles were in vain.

In the blink of an eye, the Jews were routed. Women clutching children, youths searching for family, and bewildered elders all fell beneath the knights’ blades.

“Jehovah, save us!”

“No, please, I beg you—”

“Jehovah, Moses! Where are you?”

Their cries brought no sympathy. The citizens nearby simply crossed their arms and watched. These Jews, who fawned over the nobility and exploited the common people, enjoyed the protection of the Church and brazenly practiced their heretical rites. Having taken so much in peacetime, they could hardly blame the people of Parma for not treating them as kin in their hour of suffering.

Leo watched the scene unfold and closed his eyes in silence. Not out of mourning—he had no time for that—but to consider what on earth was happening with his system. The chime of notifications had been ringing in his ears, one task after another for dealing with heretics popping up as if the system had gone mad. Seeing the promised rewards for piety, Leo was genuinely tempted to round up every Jew in the city and roast them alive. In a sense, it could even be called a sacrifice for science.

“Sir! Sir!” David came stumbling and crawling to Leo’s side, clinging to his leg. At this moment, he cared nothing for his dignity. The elderly man’s face was smeared with tears and snot.

“Please, sir, put away the blade! I beg you...”

Leo looked down at David, then glanced at the watching townsfolk. Had David ever done a good deed outside the Jewish quarter, perhaps someone might have stepped forward to plead for mercy. But now, the citizens only watched with cold curiosity, wondering how Leo would handle David.

That made things simple.

Turning to his knights, Leo cracked his whip in the air, the sharp report echoing for all to hear.

“Knights, don’t just busy yourselves with killing! Find all their ill-gotten wealth as well!”

At these words, David’s chest tightened. His eyes widened, as if he had never seen anyone like Leo. Then he watched as Leo took a lance from a nearby knight. The gleaming tip sent a chill through David’s body.

“No... don’t! Ahhh!”

Leo drove the lance through David’s shoulder, pinning the old man to the ground. He showed no mercy to these Jews. The atrocities the Jews would commit in later ages made Leo’s current actions pale by comparison. And they had committed plenty of misdeeds already.

“Sir, I found something!”

When it came to looting, Enrique, born in the backwoods, was the most enthusiastic. He hurried over with a small box. Forcing it open, he spilled a pile of silver coins onto the ground.

Leo picked up a coin, weighing it in his hand. Heavy. Reassuring.

“Take some men, bring out all their possessions, and be quick about it.”

Enrique nodded and led several retainers inside, searching every corner for valuables. Elsewhere, under the knights’ threat, the remaining Jews either hid in their homes or fled into the wooden synagogue.

The synagogue, sacred to the Jewish faith, had always stood there. In this crisis, it was only natural for the Jews to seek shelter within, hoping for Jehovah’s protection.

But to Leo, it was simply an offering of piety delivered to his doorstep.

He dismounted and hauled David upright. The elder grimaced in pain, unable to stand properly with his wounded shoulder. Leo felt no pity, dragging him to the synagogue doors.

Pointing at the firmly locked doors, Leo let go of David.

“David, your congregants are inside,” he said, gesturing at the entrance. “Tell them I offer them a chance at life. If they come out and hand over their money, I guarantee their safety. But if they refuse, they’ll have only themselves to blame.”

Only themselves to blame?

At this moment, David could no longer care about his own pain. This priest was a demon. He dared not imagine what would happen if his people resisted. The elder ran to the doors, raising his hands and pounding on them, shouting desperately to those inside.

“Brothers, do not resist... Come out! Come out, I beg you! This is our punishment, we are sinners... Just come out! If you hand over your money, you will not be harmed!”

But David’s pleas went unheard. Not only did the Jews inside remain hidden, they shouted back through the door.

“Some rabbi you are, David! Without that money, how will we survive? Traitor! Are you betraying Jehovah?”

“No, no, must I beg you on my knees? Please come out—”

Before David could finish, Leo waved his hand. Two knights understood and stepped forward, raising their lances and driving them hard into David’s back. The elder, still pounding on the doors, fell silent.

Inside the synagogue, the Jews fell quiet as well, save for the sound of stifled sobbing.

“You see now, this is what Jews are,” Leo said to his knights. “Stubborn and greedy. They refuse to part with their wealth or abandon their faith—a parasite in every sense. But the Lord is merciful; we will cleanse their sins and lead them to paradise.”

The knights now clearly understood Leo’s intent. They bowed their heads, making the sign of the cross and beginning to pray.

Corrado led several men to hurl oil jars found in the Jewish homes against the synagogue, while Enrique and others brought torches to the building’s side.

The people of Parma grew restless. They had never seen a burning at the stake, but they could guess what Leo was about to do.

“The flames will purge them of their sins! Amidst the fire, they will see the angels sent by the Lord to guide them to paradise!” Leo took the lead, preaching as he moved.

Behind him, the knights pressed their hands together, heads bowed in prayer. In the presence of God—or rather, Leo—they looked devout indeed.

“The Lord is forgiving; even lost lambs shall return to Him after they are purified.”

“In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”

“Amen—”

After making the sign of the cross, Leo took the torch Enrique handed him and strode toward the synagogue.

He could sense the terror inside, the Jews not knowing whether to come out or stay. Perhaps even now they believed their God would protect them.

But there are no gods in this world.

With that thought, Leo threw the torch. The moment it landed on the oil-soaked wall, flames shot up, thick black smoke billowing to engulf the synagogue.

The rapidly rising heat sent the Jews inside into shrieks of terror.

“Demon! Demon—!”

“Ahhh, damn you Christians!”

“Save me! Please!”

No one showed them an ounce of pity. Leo glanced at the locked doors, satisfied, and mounted his horse to lead his knights away. It wasn’t he who barred the doors; the Jews had sealed their own fate.

Soon, the flames completely engulfed the synagogue. Black smoke rose like a pillar to the heavens, visible to all in Parma. The stench of burning flesh mingled with the smoke, the Jews inside screaming for escape. But the sturdy building and its locked doors sealed off their last hope.

Leo, however, cared only for the system’s chime in his ears.

[Task “Dealing with Heresy” completed.]

[Task “Dealing with Heresy” completed.]

[Task “Dealing with Heresy” completed.]

...

“Sir, sir, you—” As Leo was lost in the endless rewards for piety, Enrique suddenly patted his shoulder, pulling him back to reality. Leo looked up, meeting Enrique’s gaze and then the eyes of those around him.

The citizens all stared at Leo, as if beholding the devil himself walking the earth.

Only then did Leo realize he could barely contain the smile curling at his lips. No wonder the people looked at him like that.

It was, after all, the first time anyone had burned people alive and grinned while doing it. By tomorrow morning, even Satan himself might find he’d slipped to second place on the demon rankings.

Quickly, Leo reined in his smile and put on a solemn face once more.

“I was born with a smiling face, and the Lord knows it,” he whispered to Enrique.